Pipe lowering device



J. w. scHUETz' 2,896,796

PIPE: LowERING DEVICE July 2s, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed NOV. 4, 1957 -INVENTOR AMY/M TTOENEYS July 28, 1959 J. w. scHUETz 2,895,796

PIPE LOWERING DEVICE Filed Nov. 4, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E pr 75 v 5 I P\ .1 1, L@ g. v 1. I

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Y Janes W cuuTz PIPE Lownnnvo DEVICE James W. Schuetz, Pittsburgh, Pa, assigner, by mesne assignments, to Blaw-Knox Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application November 4, 1957, Serial No.v694,330 6 Claims. '(Cl. 214-1) This invention relates rto devices for lowering pipes, tubes, rods and other elongated objects.

A general object of my invention is to provide improved apparatus for lowering pipes, tubes, rods and other elongated objects. Other objects of my invention are to'provide improved apparatus for lowering pipes, tubes, rods and other cylindrical objects which is safe, foolproof Vand elicient in operation; which `positively supports and carries the object being lowered throughout the lowering operation; which yutilizes the cylindrical characteristic of the object being lowered to facilitate the handling and lowering thereof; which lowers the objects to be lowered individually; .and which is fast andA positive in operation and is adapted .to lower a' relative large number of objects in a short length of time without damage or injury thereto. l

Still other objects of my invention include the provisionl of apparatus for lowering pipes, tubes, rods and other elongated objects which4 is adapted to' align the ends of the objects as the same are lowered; which is stron-g and rugged in construction and can be economicallymanufactured andA used', and which lowers objects with a minimum forward horizontal displacement. A still further object of'rny invention is the provision of apparatus forv lowering pipes, tubes and the like which is particularly adapted for use Vin lconjunction with modern high speedpipeand tube Emills., The. ina-nner of attaining these and other objects andv advantages of' my invention- 'will become apparent from the. following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, reference being had to `the accompanying drawings i11- whichi:

Figure l is an elevation of an apparatus embodying a preferred form of my invention with the discharge skids removed;

Figure, 2-. is a plan View of the apparatus shown in Figure l;

vFigure, 3. is an rend view of thel apparatus, shown in Figure l together with other app,atraatfusV with which it may be, associated;I

Figures. 4,;5, and 6,areY schematic elevations of appa'- ratus embodying a preferred formof m-yf invention showing the same in use to lower'a pipe; and

Figure. 7 isA anY end view of the` apparatusy shown in Figure 1 in the, position. shown: schematically in Fig,v ure 6.

For convenience I Iwill describe apparatus embodying.

my invention as-y a, part of a. butt-weld mill; foi-j lowering the pipe from a rst to a second level; it is-t'o be under'- stood, however,y thatapparatus embodying my invention may` be, used to. lower other types of elongated objects. andvv in environmental surroundings, othertlzlanfthe. mill herein particularly referred to.

Briey, apparatus embodying my invention is adaptedto lower lengths ofpipe from an upper level to. alower level and comprises entry andidischarge skids at the upper andI lower levels respectively and a plurality of'pivotally supportedi walking beams or arms which have pipe supports at their ends.

The beamslare; adapted to be rocked ice about their pivotalgaxes to lift a pipe from the upper or lentry skids on the pipel supports at one end of the beams, transferthe pipe to the pipe supports at the other ends of the beams andlower the pipe onto the lower or discharge skids.

Apparatus embodying my invention is indicated generally at Figures l, 2 and 3 and includes downwardly sloping upper orrentry skids E upon ywhich the lengths of pipe P, to be lowered, are received and downwardly sloping lower or discharge skids D upon which the pipes are carried away after they have been lowered. The skids E and D are supported on appropriate framework F and F' respectively and conveniently comprise a plurality of transversely spaced, parallel rails upon which the pipes roll. Stops S at the ends 0f the respective entry skids E prevent the approaching pipes from rolling o the ends of the skids. V

The apparatus'l also includes a plurality of walking beam units, indicated generallypat 2, which areflongitudinally spaced and Valigned with respect to the longi# tudinal center lineiof Vthe pipes P. The number of units 2 necessary in a given 'apparatus' `is determined by the length and rigidity ofthe product to be handled. For convenience I have' shown`V apparatus embodying two such units. Each unit 2 comprises an arm or beam 3 mounted, at im midpoint, on an axis or shaft 4, see Figure 3, and provided at both ends with upper and lower pipe supports 5 and t5,v respectively; Shaft 4 is rotatably supported in suitable'bearings or pillow blocks 4.

Pipe supports 5 ando' are rotatably supported on beams 3 and are. tapered so lthat the pipe sections roll downwardly to end `portions or cradles 7 and v8 respectively, see Figures 2 and 3,-. The upper' `or entry pipe supports Sy are of sufficient length so that the Vcradles 7 thereof are disposed forwardly, relative to the stopsS of entry skids E by a distance at least as greaty as the respective radii of the pipe to be lowered so' that'` each pipe supported in the cradles 7 passes in front of stopsV SKWit-houft engaging the same when the beamsv 3 ane rotated'. Similarly the lower or discharge pipe supports 6vr are of greater length tha-n the upper pipe supports 5' and the cradles 8:k thereofv are forward of the ends of thel upper pipe sup! ports 5 by ka distancev at least asfgreat asthe radiivv of the' pipe tobef lowered; so that each pipe supported? in the cradles 8'; passesin front of the upper pipe supports 5 Without engagingthe same' when. the beams 3 are rot-ated'. A pipe. supported in the upper pipe support cradle 7v is*`- engaged byv the; lower pipe: supports when the beams 3 arerotatedhowever;

Y Inf order to rotate the; beams: 3- back and forth in avv rocking motion through a` limited angle for purposes which rwill hereinafter more fully' appear, I preferably provide4 bifurcated crank. 10; whichl ar'eixledly secured to the respective` axles"- 4: Preferably, the crank arms` are actuated by a` motor in. the form# ofV a conven-Y tional` doublefactinghydraulic cylinder 12 having apiston rod 13` the, motion off which is vcontrolled byy suitable hydraulic control means:` and.A conduits (riot shown). A connecting rod.15,is-pivota-l-Lyl connected'to the piston rod 13 andV to the nearest crank arm:I ltai Similar connect-` ing'. rods: 1.6, interconnect `eaclr"adja`cent pair 'ofcranky armsy 10. so that all of;v the crank armsareconnected inl seriesA with; eachfotherf and the' piston 131 Y The;

actuation, of the cylinder12:-consequently,A simultaneolinly rotates. eachl beam' 3 at'thcsame'speed and' inthesam'e direction as every1 other beam. in'the apparatus; Also, thelbeams.. are. parallelf tofeachr other.v at all times so that eachv pipe is. maintained level.: or horizontal*l While:` being carried byv the. pipe. supportsg and.,F therefore has; no tendency Vto roll` endwise,f off the. apparatus.; By,- reversing` the, direction4 of `moilement ofV pistonr 13, the directiony of: rotation of: tlie beams 3 is, of curse,'reversed; thus,

reciprocation of piston rod 13 rocks the beam 3 through predetermined angles.

The operation of my apparatus is best understood by referring to Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7. Figure 4 shows a pipe P disposed on the entry skids E and against the stops S and the beams 3 positioned soV that the upper pipe supports are in contact with the pipe. Movement of the piston rod 13 to the right rotates the beams 3A 1n a counterclockwise direction thereby raising the pipe supports 5 and lifting the pipe P upwardly above the stops S. Once the pipe P has cleared the tops of the stops S it rolls forwardly under the inliuence of gravity, down the pipe supports 5 and into the cradles 7 (see Figures 3 and 7). Hydraulic cylinder 12 is then actuated to reverse the direction of the piston rod 13 and move the piston rod and theconnecting rods 15 and 16 to the left as viewed. This causes the beams 3 to rotate in a clockwise direction thereby lowering the upper pipe supports 5 and raising the lower pipe supports 6. Since the pipe P is supported forwardly of the stops S at the ends of skids E, it passes downwardly in front of the skids without obstruction until the upper pipe supports are lowered and the lower pipe supports are raised so as to be substantially in the horizontal plane extending through the centers of the shafts 4. In this position the pipe P rests on both the upper pipe supports 5 and the lower pipe supports 6. Continued movement of the piston rod to the left and resulting clockwise rotation of the beams 3 further lowers the upper pipe supports 5 and raises the lower pipe supports 6 so that the pipe is supported by the lower pipe supports 6 alone and is free of engagement with the upper pipe supports, see Figures 6 and 7. The pipe then rolls forwardly under the inluence of gravity upon the sloping surface of the lower pipe supports into the cradles 8, which as previously stated are forwardly of the ends 18 (Figure 7) of the upper pipe supports 5 by a distance greater than the radius of the pipe P. The cylinder 12 is then actuated to again reverse the direction of the piston rod 13 and connecting rods 15 land 16, thereby moving them to the right, again rotating the beams 3 in a counterclockwise direction and raising the upper pipe supports and lowering the lower pipe supports. As the beams cross the horizontal center line th'e pipe passes in front of the upper pipe supports. Continued movement of the piston rod and counterclockwise rotation of the beams 3 brings the pipe downwardly into engagement with the discharge skids D. At the same time the upper pipe supports are moved yupwardly into engagement with the next pipe to be lowered. The counterclockwise movement of the beams is continued until the lower pipe supports have Ibeen lowered suciently to be free of the pipe P, which then rolls forwardly on the downwardly sloping discharge skids D so as to be out of the path of the lower pipe supports. Meanwhile the upper pipe supports have raised the next pipe above the stops S and the cycle is repeated.

In order to obtain the maximum vertical movement of the respective pipe supports during an operational cycle of the apparatus with a minimum angular displacement of beams 3 and longitudinal displacement of piston 13 and connecting rods 15 `and 16, I prefer that the beams, crank arms and entry and discharge skids be so disposed that the angular displacement of the beams during each movement thereof is limited to about 65 degrees and that the rangeY be from an angle of about 30 for example, in full llines in Figure l, to an angle of about 95 with the vertical, shown, for example, in dotted lines in Figure l. Thus the respective pipe supports do not move through the 30 angle nearest the vertical which, because of the inherent nature of angular motion, causes a minimum vertical movement of the pipe supports. Furwith the vertical, shown,

ther, since the upper pipe supports 5 reach their highest position and lower pipe supports 6 reach their lowest Vposition when the beams are at an angle of 30` with the vertical, the upper pipe supports must engage the pipe on the entry skids and the lower pipe supports must position the pipe to engage the discharge skids when the beams are at an angle with the vertical greater than 30 by an amount such that the additional counterclockwise angular displacement of the beams to an angle of 30 raises the upper pipe supports sutiiciently so that a pipe positioned thereon clears the height of the stops S and lowers the lower pipe supports sufliciently so that a pipe positioned thereon clears the ends 19 thereof as it rolls down the discharge skids. Further, the beams 3 must have a maximum angle with the vertical greater than by an amount (preferably about 5) suliicient so that when the upper pipe supports are in their lowermost position and the lower pipe supports are in their uppermost position the pipe can roll on the lower pipe supports over the ends .t8 of the upper pipe supports without engaging same.

The operation of my lowering apparatus advances the pipe longitudinally Vto the right as viewed, as well as downward. This is because the alternate clockwise and counterclockwise motion of the beams and pipe supports causes the pipe, while being lowered by the respective pipe supportato be displaced in the same direction during both steps of the lowering process. Accordingly, I preferably provide means to align the ends of the pipe while it is being lowered. Such means conveniently comprises an end stop 20, ,Figure l, which is disposed at the right end of the apparatus toward which the pipe is displaced as it is lowered and in transverse alignment with the pipe supports 5 and 6. Thus each pipe section is displaced to the right while being lowered until the end thereof engages the stop and any further tendency to displace the pipe in that direction is prevented by the stop and compensated .for yby the pipe rolling on the rotatably supported pipe supports which are then carrying the pipe. The stop 20 thus functions to align the adjacent ends of the lengths of pipe as it dispos'es them in the same vertical plane.

While the apparatus has been described with reference to pipes of round cross-section, it will be appreciated that elongated objects of non-circular cross-section can also be handled if the taper of supports at the ends of the beams is steep enough so that the members will slide into the cradle position at the ends of the beams.

Those skilled in the alt will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made in the preferred `form of apparatus described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The essential characteristics of the invention are deiined in the appended claims.

I claim: g

1. Apparatus for lowering pipe, tubes and other objects comprising parallel transversely spaced downwardly sloping entry skids having stops at their respective ends and parallel transversely spaced downwardly sloping discharge skids lower than said entry skids, a plurality of transversely spaced, parallel beams, means rotatably supporting said beams at a level between said entry and discharge skids for rotation in a plane extending transversely thereof about an axis extending parallel therethrough, an upper entry pipe support rotatably supported at one end of each said beam and a lower discharge pipe support rotatably supported at the opposite end of each said beam, said upper and lower pipe supports, respectively, being supported at the corresponding ends of said beams, a bifurcated crank arm fixedly secured to each said beam and adapted to rotate the same, said crank arms being mutually parallel, a hydraulic cylinder having a piston adapted for reciprocal movement therein and adapted to be selectively actuated for movement in a lpredetermined direction, a connecting rod pivotally secured to and interconnecting said piston and the adjacent said crank arm and a connecting rod pivotally secured to and interconnecting each adjacent pair of said crank arms whereby to connect said piston and assorbe crank arms in series for equal and corresponding motion and an end stop disposed at the end of said apparatus toward which the pipe or objects to be lowered are displaced while being lowered, said pipe supports being sloped inwardly and forwardly, away from said entry skids, to define a cradle for said pipe, said cradle of said upper and lower pipe supports respectively being forwardly, relative to said entry skids, of said entry skid stops and upward pipe supports respectively by a distance at least as great las the radius of the pipe or objects to be lowered.

2. Apparatus for lowering pipe, tubes and other objects comprising downwardly sloping entry skids having stops at their respective ends and downwardly sloping discharge skids at a lower level than said entry skids, a plurality of beams rotatably supported intermediate said entry and discharge skids for rotation in a plane extending transversely and vertically thereof, an upper entry pipe support rotatably supported on each said beam and a lower discharge pipe support rotatably supported at the opposite end of each said beam, said upper and lower pipe supports being 'respectively supported at the corresponding ends of said beams, a crank arm fixedly secured to each said beam and adapted to rotate the same, a hydraulic cylinder having a piston adapted for reciprocal movement therein and adapted to be selectively actuated for movement in a predetermined direction, and means pivotally secured to said piston and crank arms and connecting said piston and crank arms in series, said pipe supports having sloped lateral surfaces defining a cradle for receiving and supporting the pipe or object to be lowered, said lower pipe supports being of greater length than said upper pipe supports, said cradles of said upper and lower pipe supports respectively being forwardly, relative to said entry skids, of said entry skid stops and said upper pipe supports respectively by a distance at least as great as the radius of the pipe or objects to be lowered.

3, Apparatus for lowering pipe, tubes and other objects comprising entry skids, discharge skids, a plurality of beams rotatably supported intermediate said entry and discharge skids, each said beam rotating about an axis extending through its center and in a plane extending transversely and vertically of said skids, an upper entry pipe support rotatably supported ,at one end of each said beam and a lower discharge pipe support rotatably supported at the opposite end of each said beam, said upper and lower pipe supports being respectively supported at the corresponding ends of said beams and being substantially equidistant from the axis of rotation of the respective beams, crank arm means fixedly secured to each said beam and adapted to rotate the same, and means to actuate said crank arm means to rotate said beams in alternating directions through predetermined angles, said pipe supports having sloped lateral surfaces defining a cradle for the pipe or obpects to be lowered, said cradles of said upper and lower pipe supports respectively being forwardly, relative to said entry skids, of said entry skids and upper pipe supports, respectively, by a distance at least as great as the radius of the pipe or objects to be lowered.

4. Means for lowering pipes, tubes and other objects from a first position to a second position comprising a longitudinally extending beam having ends and being rotatably supported intermediate its ends on an axis extending transversely of the object to be lowered intermediate said first and second positions, means for oscillating said beam through a predetermined angle, upper object support means carried at one end of said beam and lower object support means carried at the other end of said beam, said upper and lower support means having cradles for receiving and holding the objects to be lower- `ed, said cradle of said upper support means being opposite and in laterally overlapping relationship with said lower object support means and said cradle of said lower 4support means being disposed forwardly of said upper in one direction and passes in front of said upper support means -when said object is held in said lower support means cradle and said beam is rotated in the opposite direction.

5. The pipe lowering means set forth in claim -4 in which said beam is oscillated through an angle of not more than A 6. The pipe lowering means set forth in claim 4 in which said upper and lower object support means are rotatably supported on said beam.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,043,556 Protin June 9, 1936 2,231,087 Protin Feb. 1l, l94l 2,789,707 Wolf Apr. 23, 1957 2,838,158 Kerr June 10, 1958 

